Walmart is now selling a $10 smartphone because why not?

By Lulu Chang Published November 16, 2015

walmart lg smartphone 10 bucks prepaid lucky lg16 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

You can spend $600 on a new iPhone from Apple, or you can spend $10 for a new smartphone from Walmart. Sure, the names are held at varying levels of esteem, but when one is 60 times less than the other, it sorta makes up for the difference, right? For $9.82, you can own the TracFone-branded Prepaid Lucky LG16 Smartphone, which as Motherboard points out, actually comes with better features than the original iPhone (which was, to be fair, released over eight years ago). Still, if you know that you misplace, break, or otherwise render useless multiple more expensive smartphones over the course of the year, the Walmart option may not be such a bad idea.

With a 3.8-inch display, a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, a 3-megapixel rear camera, and a 4GB of storage included on its microSD card, you’re getting quite a deal for $10. And while it won’t run the newer Lollipop or Marshmallow OS, you’ll survive on Android 4.4 KitKat. Sadly, you won’t get any 4G LTE coverage with your bargain phone, but for $10, even 3G seems fair enough.

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The sole review on Walmart’s website calls the phone “pretty darn good” for the price. “The phone’s screen is a decent size, and the touch accuracy feels good enough for typing in spite of the limited screen space for a keyboard,” the four-star review notes. “Overall, while this is not the best smartphone, it’s definitely a steal for $9.99,” the satisfied customer concludes, “I don’t regret buying it.”

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With 7.3 hours of talk time and a battery life of 9.9 days on standby, the Lucky may not be the most high-tech, attractive, or fastest smartphone you’ll ever own, but it just may be the cheapest. So if you’re looking for a quick fix to get you through that dead time between contracts, or just want to know what $10 will buy you in smartphone world, head on over to Walmart and check out the Lucky. Even if it sucks, you’ll have spent less than the price of a large pizza.

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Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…

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